Liverpool To Battle Arsenal And Manchester City For Barcelona Star As Mohamed Salah Replacement
Mohamed Salah's future remains unresolved and with the January transfer window opening in less than three weeks, the 32-year-old can sign a pre-contract agreement with any overseas side from January 1 alongside Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold.
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Salah has been the best forward to lead the Reds' attacking line since the departure of Luis Suarez in 2014 and is regarded as one of the best players in the Premier League era, scoring 170 goals and registering 78 assists in 278 appearances.
The Egypt international assisted Cody Gakpo's equaliser on Saturday as 10-man Liverpool drew 2-2 against Fulham at Anfield. This season, he has made 23 appearances, netted 16 times, and provided 13 assists across all competitions.
His contract is set to end in the summer of 2025 and there has been much speculation over his future. Liverpool have offered a new deal to Salah and talks remain ongoing between the club and his representative.
Despite Liverpool's willingness to keep hold of Salah, the Reds have been linked with a move for Barcelona forward Raphinha following the La Liga club's financial difficulties. The Reds were previously keen on signing Frenkie de Jong at one point while there were rumours that Barcelona needed to sell Jules Kounde in the summer.
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According to TBR Football, a host of Premier League clubs have confirmed to Barcelona that they are interested in Raphinha – should they need to raise funds, however, the Spanish giants have dismissed any notion they need to sell.
The report claims that Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City all enquired about the Brazil international in the summer and they remain in contact with intermediaries. Raphinha has been one of the consistent performers for Barcelona this season.
The 28-year-old has made 27 goal contributions (17 goals and 10 assists) in 23 appearances for Hansi Flick’s side who lead the La Liga table by 38 points, one point above defending champions Real Madrid.
Raphinha previously revealed he was considering leaving Barcelona before hitting form for the La Liga team. He told ESPN: "Man, there were several moments, not just one [when I considered leaving Barça].
"My first six months here, the period from the summer transfer window until the World Cup, was a season in which I didn't have the best of starts, so it crossed my mind to leave the club.
"There was a lot of self doubt. I have a nasty habit of criticising myself heavily, so to speak, so that pressure made me think about leaving.
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"Then, obviously, after the World Cup I had a huge turnaround, managing to put up great numbers in six months.
"Last season, after the injuries I had, the sending off [against Getafe in the first game of the campaign], and also at the end of the season, seeing a lot of things that the club wanted to sell me, that the fans wanted me to leave, it also ends up crossing your mind to leave, to go somewhere where there's no pressure."
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LFC Transfer Room Football Correspondent. Covered the fortunes of Liverpool for the past three years. Follow Joseph on X (formerly Twitter) @joseph_agbobli